Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 September, 2017 - A record-breaking 286 SUP and Paddleboard athletes from 42 nations have arrived in Denmark to represent their nations and go for Gold in a historic edition of the 2017 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship.

As the sole World Championship for the sports of SUP, the participation for the 2017 edition in Denmark has reached unprecedented levels. Athlete participation has increased by more than 100% from the 2016 edition and fifteen more nations than the record of 27 will be vying for the coveted Club Waikiki-Peru World Team Champion Trophy awarded to the Team Gold Medalist.

Bulgaria, Channel Islands, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Morocco, Poland, Russia, and Wales are the first-time competing nations that have confirmed their participation in Denmark, demonstrating the expanding reach and growth of all SUP disciplines across the world.

“The world-wide growth and development that SUP has experienced under ISA leadership is amazing,” said ISA President, Fernando Aguerre. “Since the inaugural year of the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in 2012, the athlete participation has nearly tripled and competing countries have doubled.

“As the fastest growing water sport in the world infused with youthful, high performance qualities, SUP would be a perfect fit on the Sports Program of the Olympic Games. The ISA has successfully included SUP in the 2019 Pan Am Games, the 2019 World Beach Games, and the 2017 Central Americans Games, and we intend to continue driving the development and growth of the sport until SUP arrives where it belongs on the world’s greatest sporting stage.

“The world-class competition that we will experience in Denmark this year will be another step in the journey towards achieving that ultimate goal.”

Notably, Team India, one of the inspiring stories that came out of the 2016 Fiji ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, their first ISA event in history, will return again to compete in 2017 and build on their great strides of growth. Sekar Patchai and Tanvi Jagadish will proudly fly the Indian flag and push the limits of the sport in their country.

“The 2016 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship was my first time at an international competition, and I didn’t know a whole lot about elite equipment, such as what paddle and board to use,” said Tanvi Jagadish. “I’ve learned so much since then and this year my goal is to finish in the top ten of my races.

“It means a lot for me to represent my country and our representation of India in Denmark will inspire more young people, particularly girls, to realize that they can get in the water and practice SUP as well.”

The Opening Ceremony will kick off the festivities on September 1 at 2pm CEST featuring the Parade of Nations and Sands of the World Ceremony in Copenhagen. All 42 nations will parade through the city to the Opening Ceremony stage located in front of the iconic Copenhagen Opera House. The procession will continue with the Sands of the World Ceremony, where each team pours sand from their country into a container, symbolizing the peaceful gathering of nations of the world through SUP.